Pioneer ND-HUD10 Augmented Reality Heads Up Display

[CEATEC 2013] More and more companies are about to dive into the world of heads up displays, and for good reason, too. The basic and underlying idea of such heads up displays (HUDs for short) would be the make driving safer as it offers you additional information in front of your eyes without requiring you to shift your gaze away from the road that is right ahead. Needless to say, this would help reduce the number of possible accidents, and gives you the ability to see danger earlier.

Pioneer demonstrated this with their Pioneer ND-HUD10 augmented reality HUD device at CEATEC this year, and this particular device is meant to be mounted onto your sun visor which should be a staple in every vehicle. This would be adjustable in height so that it can suit just about every driver who decides to purchase this 63,000 yen device.

The Pioneer ND-HUD10 AR HUD will rely on a LED (DLP system) setup which features a resolution count of 540 x 120 pixels. There is no wireless connectivity here, and the entire shebang weighs in at 950 grams, which means it should not send your sun visor tumbling down anytime soon.

How does it work? Well, your eyes will see the equivalent of a 30” display that is 3 meters in front of you, and this is said to reduce the line-of-sight-focus movement so that you will be able to enjoy a safe and comfortable drive. Projection onto the ND-HUD10 will be done in color, and there will be color-coded arrows that show off just where you are supposed to turn, among other information such as direction and distance to the next turn.

Basically, in “HUD map mode”, the driver will be able to check out the relevant information required in order to drive to his or her destination using a simple color-coded map, with all the other essentials such as scale adjustment of six phases, such as toll roads also thrown into the mix. Right now, the graphics do feel rather “primitive” in nature, but hey, I guess if it gets the job done, why not?

One advantage that the Pioneer ND-HUD10 has over other in-vehicle HUDs would be this – you can basically install this system in any car, and there is no need for a special windshield in the first place for it to work. That ought to go some ways in reducing the overall cost for intuitive HUDs in vehicles, and who knows, this might grow to be popular enough in order for it to be adopted on a wide scale?